The Problem
As part of a company-wide initiative at Craneware to move our desktop-based health care financial management software solutions to cloud-based applications, the Trisus Supply (TSUP) product group wanted to better understand what features its users wanted to see maintained in the new product and what new features and designs they wished to see. As the User Experience Researcher at Craneware, I was tasked with creating and executing a plan to discover these and work with the product group to implement them.
The Plan
TSUP users, as with all our users at Craneware, worked with large amounts of information and needed a product that sorting and quick at-a-glance information delivery. At this early stage, I decided to use a two-stage qualitative set of methodologies, starting first with a survey delivered to a selection of TSUP users identified by usage statistics and in conjunction with the product team aligned with the TSUP product, then moving to a series of focus groups to dig deeper into user needs.
The Process
Working hand-in-hand with the product team and UX design colleagues, we wanted a robust number of users for both parts of the process, flowing (assuming they agreed to continue) from the survey portion into the focus group portion. To make sure we enabled the users to give feedback as accurately as possible in their own words, I chose to design the survey with entirely qualitative questions and then use the results of this survey to design the focus group questions to drill down further on these topics and move into more quantitative questions.
The survey was sent as a direct email to the users with a request to respond directly via email, which encouraged ease of response and leveraged the preexisting relationships with “power users” of Trisus Supply, encouraging 10-12 users to move through the process effectively.
Trisus Supply – Desktop to Cloud Discovery Survey
What parts of the current desktop version of Trisus Supply do you rely on the most in your day-to-day work?
What do you like most about how Trisus Supply works today?
Are there any features or behaviors in the desktop version that you feel are essential and should not change in the cloud version? Why?
What aspects of the current desktop experience feel inefficient, frustrating, or outdated?
How well does the current layout and navigation support how you actually work with Trisus Supply?
If the cloud version could remove or simplify one part of your current workflow, what would you want that to be?
What new capabilities or features would you expect from a cloud-based version that don’t exist today?
How would you ideally like information to be organized or presented in the cloud version?
Are there tools, applications, or platforms you use elsewhere that represent a “good experience” you’d like the cloud version to feel more like?
When the migration to the cloud is complete, what would make you feel that the transition was successful?
This survey let us know code corrections were considered a cumbersome part of the process of using Trisus Supply because there were too many clicks or actions required to use them. To understand exactly where these clicks were, we decided to move forward with a second research phase to map the users’ journey to better understand where changes might be most effective.
The Results
User feedback on Trisus Supply revealed a consistent need for greater clarity, efficiency, and visual usability. While users recognize the platform’s functional importance, they identified several areas where the experience could better support quick understanding and confident decision-making.
Across interviews and qualitative feedback, three primary themes emerged.
Key Findings
1. Need for Clearer Code Correction and Feedback
Users expressed frustration with how code corrections are currently presented and communicated within the system. While they rely on Trisus Supply to surface discrepancies and issues, the reasoning behind updates is not always immediately clear, especially as Trisus migrates from a desktop to a cloud version.
Participants indicated they want to:
Understand why a correction is being suggested
See what changed and what impact it has at a glance
Feel more confident that corrections are accurate without needing additional validation steps
Insight:
Users value accuracy, but confidence depends on transparency. When corrections lack clear context, users compensate by double-checking work outside the platform, slowing workflows and reducing trust.
2. Desire for Simpler, At-a-Glance Views
Many users described the current experience as information-dense, requiring too much effort to identify what needs attention. They want faster ways to answer basic questions such as:
What requires action right now?
What has changed since the last review?
Where should I focus first?
Users emphasized the importance of simplified views that highlight key signals without requiring deep navigation or filtering.
Insight:
Users are not asking for less data — they are asking for better prioritization. At-a-glance views would help reduce cognitive load and support quicker, more confident decisions.
3. Expectation for Visually Appealing, Modern Dashboards
Feedback consistently pointed to dashboards as an opportunity for improvement. Users described a desire for dashboards that are:
Easier to scan and interpret
Visually organized with clear hierarchy
More modern and engaging
Participants associated improved visual design with increased usability, not aesthetics alone. Clear visual structure was seen as a way to reduce errors, improve focus, and make routine review tasks less burdensome.
Insight:
Visual design plays a functional role in enterprise tools. A well-designed dashboard is perceived as more trustworthy, easier to use, and better suited for daily operational review.
Summary of Insights
User feedback indicates that Trisus Supply is trusted for its functionality, but users want the experience to better support clarity, speed, and confidence. Clearer code correction explanations, fewer actions required to get to necessary tasks, simplified reminder-style views, and visually refined dashboards would help align the platform with how users actually work, especially under time pressure.